


Mystical Week

by sasuhina_gal



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Artist Keith (Voltron), Cursed Lance, Green Lion is a dragon, Gumiho Keith, Leviathan Allura, M/M, Merchant Lance, Mythology - Freeform, Pirncess Pidge, Prince Hunk, Reincarnation, Witch Allura, half dragon keith, musician lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-02-25 20:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13220175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sasuhina_gal/pseuds/sasuhina_gal
Summary: A week of fantasy and magical AUsDec 31-Stories of the Past (Klance, Gumiho!Keith)Jan 1-Lost in Solitude (Princess!Pidge)Jan 2-Curse and Cure(Cursed!Lance)Jan 3-The depths of the sea(Laviathan!Allura)Jan 4-Beasts of the Wild(Half Dragon!Keith)Jan 5-Spellbound(Shallura, Witch!Allura)Jan 6-Free Day(Klance, Gumiho!Keith, sequel to Day 1)





	1. When a gumiho falls in love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geyong never wanted love. But then he met Lance and that all changed

_If a gumiho does not eat human flesh for thousand days, they turn into human_

That’s what he was told by Ulaz. And he wanted it, badly. Keith never thought that he’d ever be interested in being human. They were so easy to trick and so delicious to eat when he got them in his grasp. But it changed when he met him, Lance.

It was such a strange name but it fit for the foreign merchant. Part of his father’s circle, Lance came to the small but knowledgeable village of Arus to look up the different styles of art that were created here. He got separated from his group one day and somehow ended up in the forest near the edge of the village. Geyong’s domain. But not everyone was smart enough to stay away. Hunters had been trying their hardest to kill him, failing and usually becoming his dinner but they got smart and set out new contraptions he had never seen before. They were like teeth that clamped around his leg, keeping him still and unable to move even as he flitted between both human and fox form. That’s how Lance found him.

He growled at him, hoping to get him away but Lance just continued forward, speaking in such calm and low words. He didn’t recognise the language but it didn’t matter. He slowed his growling as Lance patted at his fur, calming him, before he went to where his leg was trapped in the trap. He let out a hiss but Lance shushed him, trying to calm him again. He let Lance open the trap until he could pull his leg out and then took off ignoring the rise of calls from the merchant.

Geyong’s ankle was swollen and no amount of dipping it in the river was helping.  He thought that being a gumiho would protect him from anything but seeing his ankle swell more and more, he was scared he might be wrong.

Then he came again, but with healing medicines. And when he spoke, it was in the tongue he understood, but it was choppy, like he didn’t fully understand how to speak it. But he tried. While in fox form, he let Lance – he introduced himself then, in a way to calm him down when the medicine stung – clean and bandage the wound, letting him relax before promising he’d find him again the next day. So it continued, Lance helping him heal, his ability to speak the tongue he understood slowly getting better. Geyong admitted the rubs behind his ear were becoming addicting.

Lance was interesting. He never met anyone with eyes as bright as his, blue as the river he lived near. His skin was so much darker than everyone in the village but it added to his beauty. He was different but Geyong liked him.

“Looks like your legs all better. Make sure to avoid those traps ok? I hope I don’t you see you strapped down at the village. That beautiful coat of yours shouldn’t be sold. Stay safe.”

He watched him walk away and in a split second, Geyong chased after him.

Lance reacted like anyone would when the same black fox he had been healing only moments ago turned into a human with 9 tails. He screamed loudly and cursed but in that tongue he didn’t understand.

“You’re not going to eat me are you?”

“Why would I eat the person who healed me?” he asked, tilting his head in confusion

“Aren’t you the monster the locals warned me about? The one that haunts the forest?”

“It’s _my_ forest. They don’t get to complain about it when they try attacking me in my domain!”

Lance blinked at him. “Ok, calm down. Sorry. I thought you’d eat me or something.”

“You were…kind to me. You didn’t have to be. Like you said, my fur would make me valuable and everyone in the village wants me gone so…”

Lance looked upset. “You don’t deserve that. I mean spirits are a natural thing here and you only attack those who come into the forest right?”

“Mostly. I eat raw flesh.”

Lance blinked at him, looking slightly disgusted. “Ok…um. Anyway, you’re a regular spirit so they can’t be too annoyed. But I guess you can stay here to stay safe. Just don’t eat me.”

So that’s how it started, how he started visiting the human. It also how he gained a new name.

“Geyong is really hard to pronounce for me. Can I call you something else?”

“As long as it’s not stupid.”

“Well, in English I would say your name like Keith.”

“Keef?”

Lance laughed at Keith’s attempt, “We’ll work on it.”

It continued, Keith scaring Lance when he’d come back from eating another unfortunate villager, Lance introducing him to eating raw animal meat and Lance teaching him the different languages of English and Spanish, the language Lance would speak at random times. He became more loving on the head pats to the point that it didn’t matter what form he was in.

Keith never felt love. The spirits he interacted with he respected but never fell in love with. With Lance, it was different, like everything about their relationship. Lance had been reading him a story about an emperor and his lover when Keith asked what Lance thought love was.

“Love? It’s when you’re with a person and are perfectly content. That even in the worst things, you can trust that they’ll be by your side no matter what.”

“What if you fell in love with someone you weren’t supposed to?”

“Well, half the reason I came here is because my father found me with a man. It wasn’t serious but my father didn’t want me to ruin myself. But if I meet a man I fall in love with, I won’t stop myself. And I think there might be someone.” Lance said, scratching at Keith’s head near his ears.

“Really?” Keith asked, trying to focus on what Lance was saying but was melting at the attention he was getting.

“Yeah, he’s a really foxy guy.”

Keith almost missed what Lance was saying because he was so deep in bliss but he opened his eyes and looked up at Lance, who brushed Keith’s bangs from his eyes and gave him that same smile that always brought Keith under his spell. That’s when it became clear. He wanted to grow old with Lance.

“There is a way.” Ulaz said, the imugi floating around Keith in the realm of spirits. The serpent like dragon was surprised Keith was even asking this. As far as he knew, Keith didn’t want anything to do with humans. “But do you truly want it?”

“I’ve never cared about humans, let alone love but being with Lance changes everything. When hr told me he was in love with me, I didn’t pity him. I wanted to grow old with him and be with him forever. Since he can’t become a gumiho, I’ll become human for him.”

“And if it doesn’t last long? If he decides you becoming human after the deed is done is something he doesn’t want?”

That was something he had to think about. It would hurt like hell if Lance rejected him but Keith never felt anything like the way he felt for Lance.

“It’ll be worth it.”

“If a gumiho does not eat human flesh for thousand days, they turn into human. Every 111 days, you’ll lose a tail and your powers will start to diminish. Your strength, your ability to change your appearance, your magic, your ability to transfer and take energy. You’ll lose it all. I hope you’re ready for this.”

When he told Lance, he was asked if it was something Keith really wanted.

“Love is something I’ve never experienced or wanted but when it comes to you, it’s completely different. I want this. I know it’ll be hard but I will be able to do it.”

* * *

 

It was hard, so very hard. Not eating human flesh meant he ate more of the meat Lance would give him. He already heard the butcher in the village gossiping about how Lance seemed to have parties with the amount meat Lance had ordered.

Lance got sick when it was 50 days in. it wasn’t bad, Lance just laid on his futon listening to Keith complain about how he was starting to get sick of all the extra meat he had to eat.

“Eat vegetables.” Lance said, only for Keith to gag.

200 days in, Lance got sick again but it was worse. He was coughing and burning with a fever. Keith didn’t think twice about kissing him to give him some of his energy. It hurt after he did it but he’d rather be weak and in need of help than Lance sick.

As he lost his tails, he would fall sick and Lance would always take care of him, even as he seemed to get sick more often.

“Why are you getting sick so often?” Keith asked on one of his better days

“It’s probably all the changes going in and out of the forges. I’m fine.”

As he got closer and closer to becoming human, Lance kept getting sicker and sicker. Keith was getting worried. Lance was having fevered dreams and sure he was close to death but Keith wasn’t going to let him. But eventually his kisses only gave comfort, not energy.

The day he lost him, he was laying on him trying not to think about how weak the grip of Lance’s hand was going through his hair.

“Don’t leave please.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Lance said, but Keith could tell he was losing him. He didn’t understand how. Lance had been fine and then he would get sick for no reason. “Hey do you believe in the idea of reincarnation?”

“Huh?” what was Lance trying to say?

“When you come back to life in another form. I fell in love with a gumiho. That has to count for something. Maybe I’ll come back at some point in another form. Maybe you can still love me then.”

He hadn’t told Lance, but they were up to 998 days. He was sure he only had once chance and he didn’t want to take the chance if Lance was ok.

“I’ll always love you, no matter what.”

Lance hummed and that’s when Keith knew. He could hear Lance’s heartbeat slow and feel his hand trying to grip his hair one last time.

His scream of anguish was heard all throughout the village.

He almost stayed human, until he heard whispers of a plot.

_“I heard that foreign merchant was housing that damned fox.”_

_“All the meat he ordered made the butcher suspicious. He snuck on the property and saw that tails of the fox.”_

_“I heard that the merchant had tamed the fox.”_

_“Apparently the butcher’s son put poison in the meat deliveries. That fox killed his wife so he took revenge.”_

That night terrified screams echoed as the gumiho regained his tails in revenge of his lost lover.


	2. Desire for Solitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge wants nothing more than to stay in her tower away from the annoying princes. A visit from an unwilling prince might help her get what she wants

“Good Green. Who’s a good girl?” Pidge cooed at the large green dragon that had been wrapped around the tower Pidge was in, the very tip of her nose poked into the only large window. She let out a large rumble as her princess scratched her nose in her favourite spot. “One more prince gone. We keep this up, maybe they’ll take a hint and I can just relax here. Then we can finally make the roof retractable so you can join me in here. Oooh, such a good girl.” Pidge planted a kiss on Green’s nose before Green pulled away and crawled herself up to rest on the roof of the tower.

When Pidge was first placed in the tower, her parents were expecting screams and complaints. But she had been brimming with happiness. Pidge hadn’t told her parents, mostly because she didn’t have a word for it, but when she did, she still didn’t mention it. Asexual and Aromantic, not interest in sex or romance, the idea of sex making her feel sick sometimes depending on how explicit. She had no desire in being saved by a prince or having his children. After rejecting so many princes, her parents thought locking her in a tower would help her find a husband. Honestly Pidge couldn’t be happier. They expected her to be scared of Green but the dragon dotted on Pidge when they first met. This is where Pidge wanted to be, living in the tower on her own with no expectation of what was expected of her. Now if only she could get rid of all the princes that kept trying to save her.

Pidge checked on her plants. Pidge was not an outside person but even being trapped in a tower it was needed to go out into the sun, even for just a bit. She turned on her mechanism to water the plants, watching to make sure everything was working while enjoying a bit of the heat from the sun.

“Maybe I can work a few more projects and then finish the roof retractor.” Pidge muttered to herself, trying to plan the rest of the day when she heard the unmistakeable sound of hoof steps. “Are you kidding me? Again?” Pidge let out a groan and walked around the wrap around balcony to where she could see Green’s nose peeking out. “Green, we got another one!” the large head poked out more looking down at the princess in what she could tell was confusion. “Yeah, I know. Take care of him will you?”

“Pidge! Katie! Please don’t sick Green on me!”

Pidge turned around and looked over the ledge. It was far but she could see the similar coloured hair. “Matt?”

She let Green pull Matt up with her tail until he was firmly placed on the balcony. Her brother patted Green’s tail, watching as the dragon made herself comfortable again.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“First come here, because I haven’t hugged my sister in weeks.” Matt said, scooping up his sister and spinning her around, ignoring her shrieks to put her down. He put her down and ruffled her hair, laughing as Pidge hit him on his arm in annoyance. “Aww missed you too.”

“Asshole!”

“Such crude language for a princess. Don’t let mom here you, she’d be so disappointed.”

“No one cares. What are you even doing here?”

“I came to let you know something. Mother and Father have noticed that you haven’t come down with a prince charming and are getting worried.”

“So what? I like it up here.”

“You might like it but they say if there isn’t any word on you finding a husband in the next few weeks, they’ll bring you down themselves and marry you off to the first prince who comes and asks.”

“What! They can’t do that.” Pidge yelled, upset. She did not want to leave for some prince she wouldn’t love.

“They’re our parents, they can do whatever they want.”

Ok, so Matt was right about that but still.

“So this can go either two ways. One, find a prince who accepts you and is fine living like friends or two, tell our parents about how you feel about the whole romance situation. Like I’ve been suggesting. Please.”

It’s not like she didn’t want t, she just didn’t know how. It was just easier to hope they got the idea.

“Only two choices Pidge and running away is not one of them.”

Well there went that idea.

* * *

 

Pidge woke up to an odd sound. She had been reading in her room but the sun was going inside making the room warm and lulled her to sleep. She pushed herself up and listened closely. There it was again, shuffling, _like someone was in the tower_.

Pidge sprung up from her bed and peeked from around the corner. At the entrance from the balcony, there stood a guy. He looked about the same age as Matt but he was much taller. He was a bit of a teddy bear, buff arms but soft stomach. He looked so nervous about being inside the tower, looking around like he was watching out for Green to blast him. But how the heck did he get past Green anyway?

“Hey!”

“Ahh!” the guy let out a scream and spun around looking at Pidge who glared at him.

“Who are you and how the hell did you get in here? How the hell did you get past Green?”

“The dragon asleep on the roof? Um, my kingdom in known for having dragons so I knew how to get up here without waking her up, but I’m really sorry for breaking in.”

“So you know dragons, who are you?” she demanded

“I’m Tsuyoshi but you can call me Hunk. Um I’m here because I heard that there’s a princess who needed rescuing.”

“Trust me, I don’t need rescuing because I don’t want to leave here, trust me.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I’ll leave.”

Wait, what? Leave?

“Wait a minute.” Pidge ran after him and blocked him from the balcony. “You aren’t going to try saving me?”

Hunk looked completely confused. “Um, no? I’m not going to force you and well, I’ll be honest. I didn’t want to find a princess to save but my parents insisted. My last courtship ended, happily for us both but my parents are worried I wouldn’t find someone. I mean first my best friend and I end our courtship and then my last courtship ended because she fell in love with another woman. We ended things on very good terms and I was ready to just go traveling but my parents demanded I get a wife. But you don’t want to be saved so I’ll leave you be and go look for someone else.”

Pidge blinked. “Do you want to get married?”

“Uhh, eventually but honestly I’m more than happy to take a break from romance.”

“I might be able to help you. I’m AroAce.”

“Oh, ok. _Oh_ , that’s why you don’t want to be saved or one of the reasons.”

“My parents are threatening that I don’t find a prince, I’m being brought down and given to the first prince who comes to the castle. So since you want a break and I don’t want anything to do with romance and all that, maybe we can help each other out?”

“If I get the chance to see those contraptions. Is that for the roof? Does it open?”

“It will once we’re all taken care of. So yes?”

While Pidge’s parents thought she was now planning a wedding to Prince Hunk, they had been rooming and becoming good friends and finally figure out how to have the roof retract so Green could finally come in.


	3. Mystery Musician and the cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith wonders where that musician who would sit on his corner disappeared to but he's a bit more concern about the cat that seems to react a lot to any picture Keith's drawn of this mystery musician

Keith let out a huff as he slammed the backdoor of the coffee shop he worked at. He wanted nothing more than to end his boss, the asshole. Sendak was the worst person to be in charge of tired college students, though he was a college dropout but still. There was a reason he dropped out of college, he couldn’t deal with people. If his art was the one thing that made money and made enough, he’d be happy to lock himself in his apartment until Shiro dragged him out or he needed to go grocery shopping.

Though if he did, he might miss the chance of seeing that corner musician that was near his apartment. Though, he hadn’t seen him in the past 2 weeks. The tan man with those blue eyes had been filling pages of his sketch book for a while. It felt like the only way to remember him with him gone for so long. He will admit while he couldn’t stand most people, the musician always had a smile for him and he regretted never actually talking to him.

Halfway to his apartment, his phone started buzzing and Keith let out a huge huff as he pulled it out.

“What Shiro?”

“I need you to come to the pet store. I found something I think you’ll like.”

His brother worked at a pet store that worked with the local shelter and Keith would hide there when he needed affection because what was better than animal affection, especially when you were trying to avoid his brother bothering him.

“I just finished my shift, so no.”

“Fine, let me change my tactic. I found a cat and he needs a home. Are you free?”

Damn he knew how to play him.

“I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”

* * *

 

“Where did you find him?” Keith asked as he crawled under the desk where the brown cat with bright blue eyes had been hiding under since he was brought it.

“More like he found us. I was closing up and brining in the outside sign and he came running in and ran right under there. He hasn’t moved since. He’s even too scared to hiss at people.” Shiro explained as he watched Keith give the cat his hand to sniff. The cat tried back away but he was already at the wall of the desk

“Hey, it’s ok.” Keith said the cat, not approaching, trying to make himself seem unthreatening. “You’re ok.” The cat still didn’t approach him and Keith didn’t want to push it. He crawled out of desk and left the cat, making sure to push Shiro away so the cat wouldn’t feel crowded. “Why call me?”

“With the holidays coming up, I’m happy to say a lot of the cats have been adopted out. I tried looking for fosters but everyone is really crowded plus they’re a bit more focused on the kittens getting homes. He’s a fully grown cat. I thought you might be able to help.”

“I mean, thankfully I’ve got the next two days off and after that my shift doesn’t start until late so I’ll be with him. It’ll take a while to gain his trust though.” Keith said looking back to where the cat was hiding.

“Part of me hopes that once he’s gotten over his fear, he’ll be more sociable. Maybe you might be able to adopt him.”

Keith did want a cat. He had been looking at one earlier but she was adopted by someone else plus he was swamped with extra shifts when he got on Sendak’s bad side.

“I’ll try my best. I’m gonna sit near him until I can gain his trust.”

Shiro put his hand on Keith’s shoulder, “alright. I’ll continue closing up. I’ll stay with you but I’ll be in the back working on paperwork.”

Keith nodded and went back over to the desk, sitting next to it. He pulled his sketch book from bag and continued working on the drawing he started on his break. He was adding more details onto the space castle that sat in the landscape he was drawing when he looked over to check and saw a pair of blue eyes looking at him. When they made contact though, the cat backed up into his hiding spot again. Good, he was getting interested. He worked more until he felt like his sketch was finished. He flipped pages until he reach an unfinished portrait. It was supposed to be a character sketch but it looked like a certain someone so he never finished. Keith couldn’t think of any other ideas to draw so he let out a sigh and flipped back to older pictures of the mystery musician to remind himself. Soon his pencil was forming the familiar shape of the eyes and sharpness of the chin. He pointed the ears and added triangles under the eyes to add the sci-fi affect he was going for. He started the sketch out the accessories his character would wear when he noticed the cat poking his head out again.

“Hey. Wanna see what I’m doing?” The cat didn’t dart back under the desk so he took that as a yes and turned the sketch book to face the cat. Strangely when he did, the cat seemed to perk up and leave his hiding spot to get closer. “Like it? There was a guy who plays music on my corner so he looks like him.” after he said that, it almost seemed to trigger him to start meowing. A lot and really, really loudly. “Wow, ok, hi. You meow really loud.”

“What’s that noise?” Shiro called from his office

“The cat. He started meowing after I showed him a picture in my sketch book. Ok, I heard you, you can stop.” he said to the cat who was meowing and hitting him with his paws. He put his book down and picked up the cat looking right at him as he started making mournful meows. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Merow.” The cat meowed looking completely dejected suddenly.

“Hey, what wrong? What am I not getting?” Keith looked down at his sketch book where the familiar face looked back at him. “Is that? Could that be your owner?” he was answered with a small chirp. “Hey it’s ok. We’ll put up fliers. I haven’t seen him on my corner recently but maybe he’ll turn up soon. Why don’t you stay with me until I can find him?”

* * *

 

The cat’s tail twitched as he watched Keith paint away. It was his mystery musician but with a little brown cat sitting on the musician shoulder, like the same cat was doing to him currently. Once the cat started climbing up, whenever Keith was sitting or still he’d find the cat meowing at him at least once before he started up until he was sitting on his shoulder.

“Is it weird of me to be drawing your owner so much?” Blue, named after his eyes, meowed. “I mean, I never talked to him but I wanted to. I don’t do so good with people, I’m better with animals so I never said anything. First time I saw him I had a really bad day at work and glared at him when he tried to smile at me. I kinda felt guilty so I smiled at him the next time I saw him. That seemed to fix things though I still never talked to him. I did leave a cup of coffee for him when he wasn’t looking over at me. I took off before I could see if he took it. I guess I just really wish that I talked to him, even if it was just to tell him his music was really good. I guess you’d be a good reason talk to him.” Keith said, using the end of his brush to scratch the middle of Blue’s forehead. “It is weird though. How come your owner hasn’t come to find you yet? It’s almost been a month?”

It had been a month. Blue made himself at home and it gave Keith something to look forward too. Blue was not a fan of the kibble, a complete pro at sneaking any cooked meat from Keith’s plate. He acted pretty human like as well. Last time Keith came back home, his white board had been pulled down and Blue was chewing on the top of his markers, almost like he had been trying to pull it off. Strange as it was, Keith enjoyed him there and Blue seemed to like just as much as he would meow up at Keith with this cat like smile. He knew he had grown to love Blue and would definitely miss him when his owner finally came back to get him.

Which was another thing. The musician had never reappeared. Keith knew that musicians would change locations after a while but Keith had been through on getting fliers out, but still no response. Not even a hint of where his owner could even be.

“Maybe I should adopt you after all. Would you like that?” Blue let out a meow. “Alright then. I guess I’ll slowly start taking the fliers down.”

That night, Blue climbed up on his chest as he climbed into bed, curling himself up on Keith.

“And now I can never move again, thanks Blue.” he received an almost smug meow in return. Keith scratched him behind both ears, listening to him purr. “Thanks for being a mood booster Blue.” he said before pressing a kiss onto Blue’s head. He had never done it before so he was surprised when he heard a loud popping sound and a blast of smoke blinded him. Then the weight on his chest felt longer and heavier. Keith coughed and waved away the smoke to see a pair of blue eyes looking back at him. But it wasn’t belonging to a cat, it belonged to a human. The mystery musician.

“Uh, hi?” he said, giving Keith a sheepish smile.

Keith punched him.

* * *

 

“Here.” Keith handed the musician a package of frozen fruit as he watched the other pull away a bloody wad of tissue from his face.

“Thanks. Oh, ouch.” He muttered as the cold feeling was placed on his nose.

Keith felt kinda guilty. After he punched the guy he almost threw him out but he noticed that Blue was gone. He thought back to when he was trying to get Blue to trust him, the minute he showed him the picture of the musician he reacted greatly. His human qualities and the white board made Keith think. Hence why the musician was on the couch and not thrown out.

“So, who are you?”

“Oh, uh. Well you’ve known me as Blue for the past month, but I’m Lance.”

“Lance. Right, so how did you become Blue?”

“That’s a bit fuzzy, so bear with me. So you usually see me on your corner but I came a bit earlier than usual and there was a girl there. I talked to her for a bit before she said she had to go so she could finish an assignment. I asked her what it was and she gave me this look and said, ‘here, I’ll show you.’ Next thing I know I’m shrinking and feeling really weird and really confused and getting away as she tried to grab me. I starched her and took off till I ran into the first open door I found, which turned out to be your brother?”

“Wait, you were changed by what, a witch?”

Lance shrugged. “She said only love could break your spell when she tried picking me up.”

“Love?”

“Well I mean, you loved Blue a lot didn’t you? That had to break the spell.”

“Right.” Keith said. Lance obviously remembered things from being a cat, which meant a lot of pictures and the painting he’d been working on. Keith could feel his face growing red. This isn’t how he expected to first talk to Lance.

“You ok? You’re really red.”

“I’m fine.” He coughed, “I guess I’m a bit surprised no one put a missing person out for you.”

“Oh well I live here by myself. Haven’t been able to make any friends since I start school in the spring semester. My mom’s probably worried sick but no one’s in any rush to find me. Thanks for taking care of me. I should have recognised you when I first saw you after I turned a cat but things were a bit hazy and I was really scared. Then you showed me your picture and it hit me why I knew you. You’re a really good artist.”

“Thanks.”

“Think I can stay here tonight?”

“I was close to adopting you, I don’t think one night will make a difference.”


	4. How I was saved by the sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sea is one of Shiro's big loves. When he's thrown overboard during a storm, his savior is something he never expects.

The sea is full of many mysteries my dear. Respect it and it will never harm you.”

That’s what Shiro’s mother told him during the first thunderstorm he could remember, when he worried about his father coming back during the storm. His father came back, extremely wet and sick the next days after but still safe.

“Aren’t you afraid?” Shiro asked while he joined his father in having lunch together so he wasn’t alone.

“Afraid of what? The ocean?” at his son’s nod, Shiro’s father patted his head. “How can I be when there’s so much to explore? The sea is old and wise, has seen the best and worst of men and continues to grow. Now I’m only a fisherman so there’s only so much I can go explore, but I hope you can appreciate the sea as much as your mother and I do. Who knows, maybe you can travel farther than any of us have.”

Shiro thought about all the things his parents told him about the sea and how he grew older, he understood what his parents saw and he wanted to know more. He wanted to explore the seas that his parents fell in love with. Once he was old enough, he told them he wanted to get on a ship and travel.

“It’ll only be for a year or two. Any money I make I’d give to you.”

“Takashi my boy, you don’t need to do that. Just enjoy your time and please be safe.” His mother said.

He joined a crew on a boat called ‘Galaxy Garrison’. His captain, Iverson, could be the worst at times but that didn’t stop Shiro from enjoying the feeling he got from being on the sea. Everything he experienced just from floating on the boat. He heard stories about the different sea creatures that lived and hoped to at least see the non-harmful ones. He never expected it to actually happen though.

They went right into the storm. They` completely lost of the boat and most people stayed under Dec to avoid being thrown overboard. Shiro was one of the people who stayed up on deck trying to save the ship when a large wave cause the entire boat to tilt to the right and people to lose their balance. Shiro stopped another crew member from falling overboard but the sudden push sent him over the ledge and into the cold icy sea. He couldn’t feel anything but before he blacked out, he could have sworn he felt something like wet hair brushing past his arms.

* * *

 

Shiro groaned as he woke up squinting up at the sun.

_‘Sun? But I thought?’_ He pushed himself up, groaning as he did so. He was on the shore of a beach, seagulls above him calling to each other. Behind him was a large forest, the leaves blocking whatever hid behind it. He looked at his clothes, which were still mostly intact. He had seen storm victims, their clothes messed up and ripped to shreds from the sea’s unforgiving waves. So his untouched clothes confused him. “Was I saved?” but by what?

He couldn’t think of that right then. First he needed to find clean water. There had to be a river on the island and then after at that, he needed to make shelter then find food. He got up slowly and once he found his balance he went into the forest and went searching for a water source. Thankfully he was able to find one and took a deep drink before he looked around and started to create a shelter. He knew if he made a big enough fire, it would signal ships passing by but he decided until he felt a bit more settled.

Shiro had been so focused on finishing his shelter he didn’t see the large shadow coming up the river until it reached the small waterfall. It lifted itself from the water and only when Shiro heard the water rushing off the body and slowly turned around to face the large being behind him. She looked like a mermaid except for the fact that she was almost as big as the Garrison. Her face was framed with wet white hair, her pink and white fin ears poking out from her tresses. He saw that she lifted her hand and started moving backwards until he realised she was scooping him up. He sat as still as possible as he was lifted closer to her head. He felt himself shaking in fear, even though he could hear his mother saying never to be afraid of the sea but it was different when being faced with it. He flinched, closing his eyes as he was lifted closer and jolted when the creature sniffed him. He opened his eyes and saw the curiosity in the creature’s eyes. Her hair was falling and brushing against his arm as she continued to sniff him and he realised that it felt familiar.

“Were you the one who saved me?” she let out a trill and tilted her head. She didn’t understand him. “Wait till my parents hear about you. Thank you.” While she didn’t seem to understand what he was saying her next trill sounded happier to him. While he was a bit unsure if he’d be getting back, he knew this experience would be one to talk about for a while.


	5. Our love is on fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has to tell Lance about his secret. He just hopes it doesn't all go up in flames

Lance opened the door and smiled at the slightly shorter man standing on the other side.

“Hey there mullet. I swear if you didn’t text me, I thought you’d be standing me up.”

“I’d never hear the end of it.” Keith said, giving Lance a knowing smile.

“Good to know you know how to treat me right. Come on.” Lance invited him in as he went to his kitchen.

Keith came in and closed the door behind him and let out a breath. He had to tell Lance tonight. He didn’t want to, just to stay normal with him. But he wasn’t normal. He was half dragon. Every couple of months his body would stop hiding his features and he’d be covered in his scales and his tail and wings and everything as far from normal as possible. He was going to have to let is very human boyfriend knew soon because that time was coming very soon.

“You hungry? I have leftover Chinese from lunch.”

“I’m fine, but I did what to talk to you about something.”

It was quiet in the kitchen as he reached the kitchen and found Lance looking concerned.

“Should I be worried?” Lance asked looking apprehensive

Keith almost didn’t want to say anything just from the look on Lance’s face but he owed him this. Lance’s boyfriend wasn’t normal and he deserved to know.

“It’s something about me. I just don’t know if you’d be very happy about it.”

The apprehension turned into worry as Lance approached Keith. “What’s wrong?”

“Um, well, how much do you know about mystical creatures?”

He was given a confused look. “Huh?” this was not going to go the way he wanted, he could tell.

“Come here.” Keith dragged Lance into the living room and sat Lance on the couch before sitting on the coffee table in front of him, making sure to keep hold of Lance’s hands.

“Keith, what’s wrong? You’re starting to scare me.”

This isn’t what he wanted. Not telling him would keep Lance in the dark and keep him from running away from Keith but he kept it from him long enough.

“You know in all those fantasy shows how mystical creatures live amongst humans?” Keith asked, not really looking at his boyfriend.

“Yeah?”

“What if I told you, that it was true, for me at least?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I told you that my mom left me and my dad when I was a kid. I never understood why until my dad told me. My mom was a dragon.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say dragon. Like Pete’s Dragon, Game of Thrones, Ergon dragon?”

“I know it sounds strange, but it’s true and I’ve been keeping it from you and I didn’t want to lose you but every couple months I can’t hide my dragon features and I knew I’d have to tell you because I didn’t want you thinking I was avoiding you.”

“Keith, is this your way of telling me you’re a scaley? Or, does that make me a scaley?”

“Lance.” Keith said, annoyed he was being teased.

“Babe, seriously you know I’d believe you most of the times, but this is a bit much.”

Ok, Keith would agree with that. He couldn’t expect instant belief, even if Lance wanted to believe him. He got up and pushed the table back a bit, trying to judge if his tail would hit it.

“Ok, just know this is not a trick or a joke ok?” he took a deep breath and let his glamour drop. His face and arms started to itch with his scales being hidden for so long, the weight of his wings and tail surprising him as usual, even with how often he’d do this. He could feel his horns parting his bangs differently that it usually hung.

“Wow. That is real. Come here.” Lance asked, gesturing for him to lean down. He got on his knees, making it easier for Lance to touch his face and his wings. He kept his eyes on Lance as he felt his fingers brushing over the scales on his face and touching his horns. He was glad they weren’t gigantic, his half-blood status making them much smaller than they’d usually be. “Your eyes have yellow in them.”

“You should see what happens when I’m really mad.”

“I’m sure you scare all the other boys.” Lance said, letting one hand go over Keith’s shoulder and brush over his wings, Keith shivering at the feeling.

“Do you believe me now?”

“Can’t not. Oh.” Lance flicked Keith on the ear, forehead and nose, which let Keith know how annoyed Lance was with him.

“Ouch! What the hell was that for?”

“Thinking I’d break up with you because of something like this. So you’re half a wild beast, who cares? You’re my boyfriend and the fact that you felt like you had to tell me shows me how much you care. I care about you too so don’t think I don’t feel the same way about you ok?”

Keith gave him a gratefully smile. “Ok, I promise.”

“Good, now come here. I haven’t gotten one kiss since you’ve been here and if you’re going to be around when you can’t hide your dragon self, I need to see how well I can kiss you.” Lance said, wrapping his arms around Keith’s neck, already tilting his head to avoid the horns.

“Yes sir.” Keith said, pressing his lips to Lance’s.


	6. Heart's desire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura gave Shiro a necklace that lets him teleport to wherever his heart desires, except he keeps appearing next to her.

Shiro was so focused on his book that he didn’t see his girlfriend sneeking up behind him until his sight was blocked by her hands.

“Guess who?”

“Is it my amazing girlfriend who I love and knew I loved after she turned me into a black cat with a glowing blue nose?” he teased

“Ok, that was not necessary.” She said, pulling her hands away and sitting next to Shiro and glaring embarrassingly at him.

Allura Altea was certainly not like anyone Shiro had ever dated. For one, she was a witch. Not the horrible name calling witch, but like a literal spell casting witch. Shiro met her at her father’s coffee shop near his college, when she accidently mixed his order up with a potion she had been working on. Shiro was out the door of the café when the potion took effect. Allura had been quick to grab him and get her father to help, all while apologizing to Shiro. He promised to keep their secret but still visited. He got closer and closer to Allura until her father suggested that instead of pinning silently, he should try asking Allura out. She said yes and they’d been together ever since.

“I know, I just love teasing you about it.” Shiro said, smirking down at his girlfriend, gaining a punch on the shoulder for the comment.

“Keep being mean to me or I won’t give you your present.”

“Present? Did I miss something? It’s not our anniversary is it?” Shiro asked, looking slightly concerned.

As tempted as she was to tease him, Allura shook her head, a smile on her face. “Nothing like that. You know in the back room of the coffee shop is like the magic room right? Well, father got a few things in and one of them was this.” Allura handed Shiro a small drawstring bag.

Shiro took the bag and opened it, turning the bag over to empty it in his hand. What fell out was a necklace with a strange pendant. It was three lines, the top and bottom with a hitched line and an arrow mark next to it.

“What is it, seeing how it came from your father’s things?”

“This will take you to wherever your heart desires. I know you were kinda upset that you couldn’t do study abroad with the internship you wanted so I thought this would help.”

“You didn’t have to do this.”

“I know, but I wanted to. Do you like it?”

“I love it, thank you.” Shiro pressed a kiss to Allura’s cheek in thanks before pulling the chain over his head, making sure the pendant rested in the middle. “Really thank you. Now I have TA hours in half an hour, any chance I can convince you to come back with me to my dorm really quick to grab my stuff?”

“Or I could you a time stopping spell so we could stay longer.” Allura suggested, running her finger up her boyfriend’s chest.

“I think I might be ok with that.”

* * *

 

There was something wrong with the amulet, Allura was sure of it. When her father told her what it did, she was happy. Shiro had been annoyed when he realised that studying abroad was no longer an option and he’d have to wait even longer to go and travel and she thought the amulet would be a help. However at the most random moments, Shiro would appear by her side. The amount of memory spells she had to do was ridiculous. It was even more ridiculous when they’d part ways for the day or for a while depending and as they’d walk away from each other, Shiro would suddenly appear at her side. This was becoming a bit of a problem. Kinda, it was nice to see her boyfriend at times but mostly a problem.

She closed the door to the coffee shop and walked to the back where she found her father making a cup of coffee with a French press by hand. She would make her drinks with magic but her father insisted it tasted better when made by hand.

“Hello darling. I thought you were going to be with Shiro this afternoon?”

“I was, but one of the students from the class he’s TAing needed extra help so he called a study session. Besides, I wanted to talk to you about something. I think the amulet I gave Shiro is broken.”

Alfor had been focused on slowly pressing down on the French press but turned his head when Allura said that. “Broken? Did something happen to him?”

“No he’s fine, don’t worry. It’s just, you told me that the amulet takes the wearer to the place their heart most desires right?”

“Yes. Where is he ending up then?”

“Well not to the place he planned on going when he was going to study abroad. He randomly appears by my side, which is just annoying when you think of the amount of times I’ve had to change people’s memories when they see him suddenly pop up next to me. I don’t understand why that’s happening.”

Alfor faced his daughter and tilted his head, looking at her like she wasn’t understanding anything. “So Shiro is wearing an amulet that transports him to wherever his heart desires and he keeps appearing next to you.”

“Yes? That’s why I’m telling you. It’s obviously broken.”

“Allura, my dear, I need you to think about what I just said.”

Allura looked confused at her father, but did what he asked. The amulet took the wearer to where their heart desired and Shiro always appeared next to her.

Oh. _Oh._

_“Oh.”_

“And now it clicks. The reason Shiro ends up next to you is because that’s where his heart desires to be. I’d suggest he not do it when he’s not with you to save you the trouble.”

“Right. Of course. I’m gonna, um, go.”

“Tell Shiro I said hello.” Alfor said, trying not to smile at the embarrassment on his daughter’s face.

* * *

 

“So when it says ‘takes to heart’s desire’ I guess by your side was not what you thought.” Shiro said, smiling at his embarrassed girlfriend.

“How can you be so smug about this?”

“I like how my heart desires to be with you, even when I don’t think about it. Maybe I should wear this all the time.”

“And have me do memory spells, no thank you.” Allura said, looking away from where Shiro continued to smile at her.

He pressed a kiss against her head, pulling her close. “I always want to be near you because I love you. I won’t go anywhere unless you want me gone.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Good, because I don’t want you going anywhere.”


	7. When the merchant finds his gumiho

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since moving to Korea, Lance has been plagued by dreams of a life that couldn't be his. So why is it when he bumps into a familiar black haired man, his heart clenches every time he walks away

_“Don’t leave please.”_

_“I’m not going anywhere.  Hey do you believe in the idea of reincarnation?”_

_“Huh?”_

_“When you come back to life in another form. I fell in love with a gumiho. That has to count for something. Maybe I’ll come back at some point in another form. Maybe you can still love me then.”_

_“I’ll always love you, no matter what.”_

Lance woke up with a jolt, the familiar yet not familiar words slipping from his mind. He let out a breath, wiping away the sweat that built up on his forehead, before dropping his head onto his knees. What was happening? Right when he got offered the job of his dreams and got to move to Korea, these dreams started. He felt like he was reliving something, but that didn’t make any sense. Lance never lived in Korea. He only took an interest in the history and mythology of it when their history teacher in high school assigned it to him. Now he could only dream of black fur, a bloody face and tails. Gumiho was a word that always stuck around. But why would he be concerned about a mischievous female fox?

Lance sighed, flopping back onto his bed. He needed to sleep. He had errands to still do and get done before he started work next week. These dreams weren’t helping but Lance hoped that once he was more settled that the dreams would stop. He could only hope.

Lance was trying to figure out where his bus stop was when he crashed into him. Korean and English slipped through his lips as he steadied himself before a string of apologies in Korean came out.

“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” When Lance got a better look at the guy he bumped into, he stopped. He looked familiar. His black hair framing his face, his greyish purple eyes, his soft looking lips and…he looked like someone lance felt he should know. But he never met this man before. Though for some reason, Lance felt like the other guy recognised him. “Have we met?” he asked, without even thinking.

That prompted the other guy to move. “No, sorry. Excuse me.” he said stiffly, bowing his head slightly as he walked past Lance, leaving the foreign blue eyed man staring after him. Who was he, and why was his heart clenching at the sight of him?

* * *

 

_“You’re not going to eat me are you?”_

_“Why would I eat the person who healed me? You were…kind to me. You didn’t have to be.”_

_“I guess you can stay here to stay safe. Just don’t eat me.”_

* * *

 

Lance felt like those sentences that still buzzed around in his head from last night’s dream were part of a conversation that was important, like a first meeting. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take of this. In his dream he remembered feeling weak but trying to be strong for someone else but the reason why made no sense. Or at least, he couldn’t remember why.

He pushed it to the back of his mind as he reached the small kiosk he had been looking for in Insadong. He needed a stamp for official documents and heard the kiosk he stood in front of had different ones with designs to choose from and they’d hand carve your name into it. He greeted the worker sitting inside and looked at all the different options. There were a lot of different designs, most matching ones. Lance knew that Korea took the idea of couples pretty seriously but he’d seen at least 4 couples wearing matching clothes and with the amount of matching designs he almost felt left out.

His relationship status was never fixed. Nyma was a disaster, Plaxum was sweet but it didn’t work out, Matt was amazing but they fell out of love and Swanky, well it could have worked if Swanky didn’t feel like hiding him all the time. He hadn’t been in a long stable relationship, like ever. He wanted to though; it was just none of his relationships worked out. Lance partially blamed himself for feeling like they were all missing something that they couldn’t give him. What the thing was, he didn’t know. All he knew was that it seemed life wanted him alone forever.

“Come on Lance, stop thinking about that and pick a design already.” He muttered to himself.

He looked around even more when his eyes stopped on a pair of stamps that shared a design. One half had a fox and the other had nine detailed tails. A gumiho. Lance almost didn’t pick it up, but the face of the gumiho looked sad to Lance for some reason. He picked it up and looked closer at it, feeling his heart clench again. He should put it down, he knew he should but he felt like if he didn’t get it, he’d regret it.

“Excuse me, I’d like to get this one.” He asked the man, trying not to think about the feeling behind his purchase.

It was hard trying to get the worker to understand fully, Lance’s Korean still needed work, but he got the point across. He was handed a stick pad and pen and was asked to write his name. Lance also heard Hangeul as well, so he was the man also asked for his name in Hangeul. Speaking, a working progress, writing, that was a bit harder. And of course more people came over. Lance went to go digging for his phone to use one of his learning apps when he heard a familiar voice.

“Need some help?” he looked up and saw the same guy he bumped into the day before, the one that look familiar.

“You’re the guy from yesterday.” Lance said to himself, though he was sure that the guy heard him

“Do you need help writing your name?” Lance realised the guy was talking to him in English

“Oh, yes. Yeah, he asked I also write my name down in Hangeul but my writing leaves a lot to be desired.”

The guy held his hand out and Lance handed him and pad and pen moving closer to see him writing out Lance’s name in familiar letters.

“So your name’s Lance?”

“Yeah, Lance McClain and you are?”

“Sung Geyong.” Lance tried to repeat the name but it sounded odd on his tongue, like that wasn’t the right name. Which made no sense, because it had to be. “You can call me Keith.”

Keith. That sounded familiar and fit him. But Lance knew he never met the guy. He was sure he’d remember him.

Lance handed the pad back to the man, who told lance his stamp would be ready in 30 minutes.

“Thanks again and sorry for crashing into you yesterday.”

“It’s fine. It wasn’t your fault. Have a nice day and study Korean more.”

“I will thanks.”

As Lance walked away, he started to feel sad, like he was leaving something behind. His mind had obviously wondered during that time because before he knew it he realised he was late for picking up his stamp and he had to be home soon to accept a business call. He rushed back to the kiosk and greeted the woman their giving his name and somehow conveying he was in a rush. He was glad she didn’t see him as rude as she gave him his total and started putting his stuff in a bag. She waved a bookmark that had his stamp stamped on it but Lance didn’t pay much attention as he handed over his money. As soon as he had both the bag and change in hand he stuffed them in his bag, rushing to catch a taxi to the train station.

After hr got home and his call was finally over, Lance felt like he could breathe finally. He started emptying his bag and pulled out the bag that held his stamp. He dumped the stuff on the table in front of him and pulled the small blue pouch near him, popping the button open and sliding the stamp out. He furrowed his brow in confusion when he saw that the stamp had 9 tails. He was sure he chose the side with the fox. He picked up the bookmark and saw the stamp didn’t even have his name on it. It took him a while to read it out but eventually and with the help of his phone, he realised what it said.

“Sung Geyong.” As in Keith. Did that mean, Keith had his stamp?

* * *

 

_“Geyong is really hard to pronounce for me. Can I call you something else?”_

_“As long as it’s not stupid.”_

_“Well, in English I would say your name like Keith.”_

_“Keef?”_

_Lance laughed at Keith’s attempt, “We’ll work on it.”_

* * *

 

_“Love? It’s when you’re with a person and are perfectly content. That even in the worst things, you can trust that they’ll be by your side no matter what.”_

_“What if you fell in love with someone you weren’t supposed to?”_

_“Well, half the reason I came here is because my father found me with a man. It wasn’t serious but my father didn’t want me to ruin myself. But if I meet a man I fall in love with, I won’t stop myself. And I think there might be someone.” Lance said, scratching at Keith’s head near his ears._

_“Really?” Keith asked, trying to focus on what Lance was saying but was melting at the attention he was getting._

_“Yeah, he’s a really foxy guy.”_

* * *

 

_“Don’t leave please.”_

_“I’m not going anywhere. Hey do you believe in the idea of reincarnation?”_

_“Huh?”_

_“When you come back to life in another form. I fell in love with a gumiho. That has to count for something. Maybe I’ll come back at some point in another form. Maybe you can still love me then.”_

_“I’ll always love you, no matter what.”_

* * *

 

Lance hadn’t been able to sleep. These dreams were worse because he saw Keith there but he had a pair of ears on his head and behind him would wave 9 tails. He would look at Lance with such love filled looks, but that couldn’t be right.

Right?

Lance was emailing his boss back and forth to complete things before he started and he asked if he knew of any legends of gumihoes falling in love. He said he had fallen into the hole of K-dramas and wondered if there could be any truth in them.

 **“There’s a legend I’ve heard of. It’s not widely known but there’s a story about how a human met a gumiho in their fox form and helped them heal when they were hurt. The gumiho took a chance and revealed themselves to the human and was rewarded with kind words and a home and soon after, love as well. However when members of the village found out, they started poisoning the food that was sent the human’s home, slowly killing him. At that time the gumiho was trying to become a human by not eating human flesh for 1000 days. They were close to turning before they lost their lover. They reclaimed their lost powers by killing the whole village that had killed the one thing** that **the gumiho had been willing to risk everything for.”**

The story felt way too familiar as he read it. He didn’t know why he could fit himself in the human’s place and Keith in the gumiho’s. It made no sense but it felt so familiar.

_Hey do you believe in the idea of reincarnation?_

Reincarnation wasn’t real. Some cultures believed in it, but the idea of coming back as the same person but just a bit different enough? That couldn’t happen could it? But the dreams, the familiarity of Keith, the sadness he felt when he looked at the gumiho pair stamps. If it was actually true and he was reincarnated, that would mean Keith was a gumiho.

He needed to find him.

* * *

 

It was not as easy as it sounded. He had the name but if it was real was the question. Being alive for as long as he had been, he no doubt knew how to hide himself. He wondered if Keith knew who he was based on the reaction he had when they first met. It was weird how he was hoping that Keith would. He searched on every way he could try and find him and wasn’t succeeding. Lance was going insane in attempts to try and find him.

Lance walked down to the street trying to take a break from staring down the computer screen. He was not close at all to finding Keith and he was starting to feel like he never would. Korea was big, Seoul as well. Now that he knew, it was like everything was against him to try and find him again. Keith lost him ages ago and now they weren’t going to get the chance to meet again.

“Maybe this is what I get for taking so long to find him.”

Suddenly Lance heard barking and yelling. He looked up to see a poodle running towards him and jumped up when it saw Lance, knocking him over.

“Ahh! No, no, stop.” he begged as the dog stated licking him. “Hey, knock it off.” He was able to push the dog off when he realised that someone was running towards him

“Get over here you mangy mutt.”

Lance couldn’t believe his luck. It was Keith.

“Can’t believe Ulaz is making me do this, babysit a dog. I can’t stand dogs.” He heard Keith mutter

“Keith.”

“Lance.”

“I’ve been looking for you. We mixed up stamps and then all the dreams started making sense and I think I’m the person that you fell in love with and I want to be near you and, and…”

“Lance, calm down, calm down. It’s ok.” Keith said, taking Lance’s face in his hands, calming him down

“Am I, I was with you wasn’t I but I was killed.”

“I was 2 days away from becoming human when I lost you.”

“You’ve been alive all this time, alone?”

“Not alone, just waiting for you like you said. When I saw you first, I thought I didn’t deserve the chance to win you again.”

Lance grasped Keith’s hands. “I told you to wait and I want to try to know you again, differently this time.”

“I wanted to know you all those years ago, that hasn’t changed. I’ll get to know you again.”

Lance closed his eyes as tears started falling from his eyes.

“What’s wrong, why are you crying?”

“Nothing, it’s just since I’ve gotten here I feel like I’ve been missing something and now it feels like everything is put back together again.”


End file.
